The Brown Envelope
I recently received the dreaded brown Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) envelope. Fully expecting yet more bad news, I tore open the envelope, ready to rip up the letter and fling it in the bin. The letter informed me that in light of my second complaint against my second assessment together with new medical evidence that the DWP was now awarding me the enhanced rate for the daily living and mobility components of Personal Independence (PIP). My 8 month battle against institutional discrimination by the DWP had finally paid off.
I believe that my struggle against institutional discrimination by the DWP was mainly down to a no-surrender/never give in attitude. Let's face it, the DWP's war on the poor, a disproportionate number of whom are disabled, is part and parcel of the Tory government's class rule on behalf of the richest one per cent in society. I saw my struggle to obtain PIP as part of this class struggle against an establishment that seeks to impoverish the poorest sections of society while transferring wealth to the 1%.
August 2016 - The Beginning
My story begins in August 2016. I already had the lowest rate of the mobility element of PIP due to my neurological illness. My illness, which is a form of low grade brain inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction called ME, had gotten a lot worse. My wife was having to cook and prepare all my meals, having to push me round in a wheelchair, etc etc. I had been on sick leave from my job for several months and knew in my heart of hearts that it was very unlikely that I would return. I told PIP that my illness had gotten worse and wanted a review of my award.
[bimg=fright|Pushing for certain answers, the medical examiner was clearly biased |no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Federal-government-ignores-.jpg[/bimg]In early November my wife and I went to the local PIP assessment centre by taxi, which dropped us outside the entrance. After a short wait we were greeted by the health professional who was going to carry out my assessment. Once inside the 'consultation' room she started firing questions at me.
I tried in vain to explain how my illness affected me and asked for time at the end to give her more medical evidence. I was ignored and told we could deal with this latter. The so called health professional fired one leading question after another at me. When she did not get the response she wanted she would repeat the question again and I would try and repeat my initial answer. The question would be asked again until she got a response that she wanted.
After about 15 minutes my wife interjected and said, "My husband has answered your question so stop asking him it again and again". This comment was ignored as the health professional persisted with her war of attrition style tactics that were grinding me down. After half an hour I asked for a break to take some painkillers and ribose, that help with energy production. I was now so very fatigued that I had my head in my hands resting on the desk of the health professional.
The questions continued unabated. She didn't stop to ask if I was in pain or feeling unwell. My wife began to answer questions for me, as I was struggling to comprehend the questions due to overwhelming fatigue. By the end of the assessment I felt as if I'd been in a fight and just had one desire: to go home to bed and take more painkillers. The health professional watched me shuffle out of the building and into the taxi waiting outside.
Rejection
A month later I received the dreaded brown envelope informing me that I was not entitled to any element of PIP, and with aids I could cook a 3 course meal, walk up Ben Nevis and run my own business. You get the picture. With the help of the local CAB and my family I prepared my Mandatory Reconsideration letter that included further medical evidence and sent it off expecting to be turned down. A month later another brown envelope arrived turning down my reconsideration.
[bimg=fright|PIke appealed the DWP's decision - based on inaccurate medical records - to provide support|no-lightbox]http://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/locked-up-dollars.jpg[/bimg]Another trip to CAB and we filled in the form for an appeal. At the same time I wrote a letter of complaint that explained in detail the lies and distortions in the health professionals' report. It also pointed out the omissions of things that I had told the health professional.
Christmas came and went as I waited for the DWP to respond to my appeal and letter of complaint. It got to late January and I could wait no longer. I rang up DWP, only to be told they had no record of my letter of complaint. I was told to send it again. Meanwhile, my employer dismissed me on the grounds of ill-health to round off a miserable month.
In mid February, I received 2 short phone calls from different Atos managers who never gave their names, and informed me that my assessment in November was not up to the 'high standards' that Atos expects of its employees. The issues raised in my letter of complaint were never mentioned. I was told that Atos had decided to let me have a second assessment, this time at my home in mid March. I was told by my CAB worker that she had never heard of someone being given a home assessment after a complaint.
Home Visit
In the buildup to the home visit I was filled with anxiety, hoping that this time I would be given a fair hearing. On the day of the visit my wife greeted the health professional who came into our living room. He identified himself as a paramedic. He expressed regret for my the 'unfortunate' experience I'd had during my first assessment and asked if I felt anxious about his presence. My wife repeatedly told him that his presence in our house made me rather anxious.
[bimg=bcenter|no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/forums/threads/disabled-teacher-scores-victory-over-institutional-discrimination-against-me-cfs-patients-in-u-k.5462/#post-29371[/bimg]He set up his laptop while I laid down on the sofa and closed my eyes due to overwhelming fatigue and pain in my back. My wife gave him 2 separate reports by different consultants that explained in great detail the debilitating impact of my illness upon my life. He promised to read the reports later. Then it was back to the same old routine of questions and type, type by the health professional.
I tried my best to answer the questions with help from my wife. The assessment lasted an hour and a quarter, and then the health professional carried out a physical examination while I was lying down. It lasted about 90 seconds and then he left, much to my relief.
[bimg=fright|Despite Pike's appeal, the second examination was as distorted as the first one. |no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Sensory-Overload.jpg[/bimg]Two weeks later, I received a copy of the health professional's report which had me in tears within a minute of reading it. I could not believe the lies, distortions and omissions of things I had told him. The consultants' reports that I had given him were not even mentioned. He did however mention that the report from the November assessment, which had been described by 2 Atos managers as unsatisfactory, was part of the evidence that he had considered!
I felt incredibly upset at not being believed a second time. I thought the first rule of medicine was to do no harm. Obviously, the health professionals working for Atos seemed to have forgotten what the word ethics means. This greatly increased the severity of my anxiety while I struggled with a flaring up of my neurological illness. For several weeks I was too ill to think about my PIP claim and regretted ever making a claim.
A month after the home assessment, I decided that I could not give in to this institutional discrimination. I spent two weeks going over his report line by line and took it apart. My critique ran to four pages and I sent it off by recorded delivery. Atos sent me the obligatory letter saying they would reply to my complaint within 30 working days.
Seven weeks after my assessment, I rang up DWP and was told that I would receive a decision in one to two weeks, as they were considering 'new' medical evidence related to my claim.
A few days later I received two letters from Atos which were replies to my two written complaints. The letter dealing with my first complaint noted that the health professional and her manager had failed to respond to the request from Atos client relations for a response to the points I had raised. It concluded with the statement that the health professional's report was, "both insufficiently detailed and based upon information which dated from 2014 and earlier dates". This was just not true. I provided several up to date reports from different medical professionals concerning the impact of my illness.
The second letter was a reply to my second complaint and noted that a review of the health professional's report had been carried out by a Client Relations Medical Advisor. It went through in detail the many points that I had raised. It concluded with the statement that there were 'many inaccuracies and omissions' within the report and that further medical evidence "had not been fully considered". To cap it all off was the further admission that the report contained many "inconsistencies and contradictions".
After such a damning quality review, the Atos client relations officer noted that the conclusions of the review had been sent to DWP for them to consider.
Surprise!
Three days later I received the DWP letter saying that I had been awarded PIP at the enhanced rate for daily living and mobility for ten years! Two days later my CAB worker rang me up congratulating me and saying that the ten year award in such circumstances was unprecedented.
[bimg=fright|It wasn't easy but Pike ultimately prevailed. His recommendation: "Don't give up!"|no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/solved.jpg[/bimg]I punched the air after receiving my award. I felt that I won a small victory over the institutional discrimination that seems to be the modus operandi of Atos and the DWP.
The moral of my story is simple: Never give up fighting. No matter how many times you are turned down, no matter what lies are said about you in Atos reports, don't let it get get you down. Turn the dejection, anxiety, stress and anger you may be feeling into action. Put pen to paper and write a letter of complaint about what happened at your assessment and/or what was said in the health professional's report. Make sure it is sent by recorded delivery. You cannot expect to be treated with respect. You cannot expect fair treatment. You can expect to be treated with disdain, to not be believed and to have the medical evidence you provide ignored.
Tory Britain in 2017 is a society that fails disabled people on so any different levels. The benefits system is on the front lines of the class war against the disabled poor. We must stand together to give disabled people the help, encouragement and support necessary to fight for the benefits that they are entitled to. As a community we need to put pressure upon politicians of all colours to take up this issue of institutional discrimination by the DWP benefits agency and demand they cancel all contracts to private companies that have earned half a billion pounds from carrying out so called "health assessments" upon disabled people.
_________________________________________________
Rare Success Story
Pike's story was covered by the Disability New Service which stated that:
UK Disability Resource
I recently received the dreaded brown Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) envelope. Fully expecting yet more bad news, I tore open the envelope, ready to rip up the letter and fling it in the bin. The letter informed me that in light of my second complaint against my second assessment together with new medical evidence that the DWP was now awarding me the enhanced rate for the daily living and mobility components of Personal Independence (PIP). My 8 month battle against institutional discrimination by the DWP had finally paid off.
I believe that my struggle against institutional discrimination by the DWP was mainly down to a no-surrender/never give in attitude. Let's face it, the DWP's war on the poor, a disproportionate number of whom are disabled, is part and parcel of the Tory government's class rule on behalf of the richest one per cent in society. I saw my struggle to obtain PIP as part of this class struggle against an establishment that seeks to impoverish the poorest sections of society while transferring wealth to the 1%.
August 2016 - The Beginning
My story begins in August 2016. I already had the lowest rate of the mobility element of PIP due to my neurological illness. My illness, which is a form of low grade brain inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction called ME, had gotten a lot worse. My wife was having to cook and prepare all my meals, having to push me round in a wheelchair, etc etc. I had been on sick leave from my job for several months and knew in my heart of hearts that it was very unlikely that I would return. I told PIP that my illness had gotten worse and wanted a review of my award.
[bimg=fright|Pushing for certain answers, the medical examiner was clearly biased |no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Federal-government-ignores-.jpg[/bimg]In early November my wife and I went to the local PIP assessment centre by taxi, which dropped us outside the entrance. After a short wait we were greeted by the health professional who was going to carry out my assessment. Once inside the 'consultation' room she started firing questions at me.
I tried in vain to explain how my illness affected me and asked for time at the end to give her more medical evidence. I was ignored and told we could deal with this latter. The so called health professional fired one leading question after another at me. When she did not get the response she wanted she would repeat the question again and I would try and repeat my initial answer. The question would be asked again until she got a response that she wanted.
After about 15 minutes my wife interjected and said, "My husband has answered your question so stop asking him it again and again". This comment was ignored as the health professional persisted with her war of attrition style tactics that were grinding me down. After half an hour I asked for a break to take some painkillers and ribose, that help with energy production. I was now so very fatigued that I had my head in my hands resting on the desk of the health professional.
The questions continued unabated. She didn't stop to ask if I was in pain or feeling unwell. My wife began to answer questions for me, as I was struggling to comprehend the questions due to overwhelming fatigue. By the end of the assessment I felt as if I'd been in a fight and just had one desire: to go home to bed and take more painkillers. The health professional watched me shuffle out of the building and into the taxi waiting outside.
Rejection
A month later I received the dreaded brown envelope informing me that I was not entitled to any element of PIP, and with aids I could cook a 3 course meal, walk up Ben Nevis and run my own business. You get the picture. With the help of the local CAB and my family I prepared my Mandatory Reconsideration letter that included further medical evidence and sent it off expecting to be turned down. A month later another brown envelope arrived turning down my reconsideration.
[bimg=fright|PIke appealed the DWP's decision - based on inaccurate medical records - to provide support|no-lightbox]http://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/locked-up-dollars.jpg[/bimg]Another trip to CAB and we filled in the form for an appeal. At the same time I wrote a letter of complaint that explained in detail the lies and distortions in the health professionals' report. It also pointed out the omissions of things that I had told the health professional.
Christmas came and went as I waited for the DWP to respond to my appeal and letter of complaint. It got to late January and I could wait no longer. I rang up DWP, only to be told they had no record of my letter of complaint. I was told to send it again. Meanwhile, my employer dismissed me on the grounds of ill-health to round off a miserable month.
In mid February, I received 2 short phone calls from different Atos managers who never gave their names, and informed me that my assessment in November was not up to the 'high standards' that Atos expects of its employees. The issues raised in my letter of complaint were never mentioned. I was told that Atos had decided to let me have a second assessment, this time at my home in mid March. I was told by my CAB worker that she had never heard of someone being given a home assessment after a complaint.
Home Visit
In the buildup to the home visit I was filled with anxiety, hoping that this time I would be given a fair hearing. On the day of the visit my wife greeted the health professional who came into our living room. He identified himself as a paramedic. He expressed regret for my the 'unfortunate' experience I'd had during my first assessment and asked if I felt anxious about his presence. My wife repeatedly told him that his presence in our house made me rather anxious.
[bimg=bcenter|no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/forums/threads/disabled-teacher-scores-victory-over-institutional-discrimination-against-me-cfs-patients-in-u-k.5462/#post-29371[/bimg]He set up his laptop while I laid down on the sofa and closed my eyes due to overwhelming fatigue and pain in my back. My wife gave him 2 separate reports by different consultants that explained in great detail the debilitating impact of my illness upon my life. He promised to read the reports later. Then it was back to the same old routine of questions and type, type by the health professional.
I tried my best to answer the questions with help from my wife. The assessment lasted an hour and a quarter, and then the health professional carried out a physical examination while I was lying down. It lasted about 90 seconds and then he left, much to my relief.
[bimg=fright|Despite Pike's appeal, the second examination was as distorted as the first one. |no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Sensory-Overload.jpg[/bimg]Two weeks later, I received a copy of the health professional's report which had me in tears within a minute of reading it. I could not believe the lies, distortions and omissions of things I had told him. The consultants' reports that I had given him were not even mentioned. He did however mention that the report from the November assessment, which had been described by 2 Atos managers as unsatisfactory, was part of the evidence that he had considered!
I felt incredibly upset at not being believed a second time. I thought the first rule of medicine was to do no harm. Obviously, the health professionals working for Atos seemed to have forgotten what the word ethics means. This greatly increased the severity of my anxiety while I struggled with a flaring up of my neurological illness. For several weeks I was too ill to think about my PIP claim and regretted ever making a claim.
A month after the home assessment, I decided that I could not give in to this institutional discrimination. I spent two weeks going over his report line by line and took it apart. My critique ran to four pages and I sent it off by recorded delivery. Atos sent me the obligatory letter saying they would reply to my complaint within 30 working days.
Seven weeks after my assessment, I rang up DWP and was told that I would receive a decision in one to two weeks, as they were considering 'new' medical evidence related to my claim.
A few days later I received two letters from Atos which were replies to my two written complaints. The letter dealing with my first complaint noted that the health professional and her manager had failed to respond to the request from Atos client relations for a response to the points I had raised. It concluded with the statement that the health professional's report was, "both insufficiently detailed and based upon information which dated from 2014 and earlier dates". This was just not true. I provided several up to date reports from different medical professionals concerning the impact of my illness.
The second letter was a reply to my second complaint and noted that a review of the health professional's report had been carried out by a Client Relations Medical Advisor. It went through in detail the many points that I had raised. It concluded with the statement that there were 'many inaccuracies and omissions' within the report and that further medical evidence "had not been fully considered". To cap it all off was the further admission that the report contained many "inconsistencies and contradictions".
After such a damning quality review, the Atos client relations officer noted that the conclusions of the review had been sent to DWP for them to consider.
Surprise!
Three days later I received the DWP letter saying that I had been awarded PIP at the enhanced rate for daily living and mobility for ten years! Two days later my CAB worker rang me up congratulating me and saying that the ten year award in such circumstances was unprecedented.
[bimg=fright|It wasn't easy but Pike ultimately prevailed. His recommendation: "Don't give up!"|no-lightbox]https://www.healthrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/solved.jpg[/bimg]I punched the air after receiving my award. I felt that I won a small victory over the institutional discrimination that seems to be the modus operandi of Atos and the DWP.
The moral of my story is simple: Never give up fighting. No matter how many times you are turned down, no matter what lies are said about you in Atos reports, don't let it get get you down. Turn the dejection, anxiety, stress and anger you may be feeling into action. Put pen to paper and write a letter of complaint about what happened at your assessment and/or what was said in the health professional's report. Make sure it is sent by recorded delivery. You cannot expect to be treated with respect. You cannot expect fair treatment. You can expect to be treated with disdain, to not be believed and to have the medical evidence you provide ignored.
Tory Britain in 2017 is a society that fails disabled people on so any different levels. The benefits system is on the front lines of the class war against the disabled poor. We must stand together to give disabled people the help, encouragement and support necessary to fight for the benefits that they are entitled to. As a community we need to put pressure upon politicians of all colours to take up this issue of institutional discrimination by the DWP benefits agency and demand they cancel all contracts to private companies that have earned half a billion pounds from carrying out so called "health assessments" upon disabled people.
_________________________________________________
Rare Success Story
Pike's story was covered by the Disability New Service which stated that:
UK Disability Resource
- Benefits and Work Website - Pike highly recommends the Benefits and Work website for disability seekers in the U.K.
- Health Rising's Disability Resource Center - check out disability resources on Health Rising
- How To Get On - if you're considering or are trying to get disability or are trying to manage financially or otherwise with these diseases do not, do not, do not miss Lily's (Kit Cat on Health Rising) stunning How To Get On website. Find out how to get on disability, medicaid, get housing help, get help with meds; the list goes on and on. (I'm about to dig into how to get out of my 25 year old student loans.)
- Disability Story? Do you have a disability story you wish to share with Health Rising? Please let us know. (We're particularly interested in stories which provide tips for people confronting rejections).
- An ME/CFS/FM Disability Attorney Talks - Steve Krafchick has been helping FM and ME/CFS patients get disability longer than anyone. An interview with Steve is coming up soon.
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